Tuesday, April 22, 2008

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) has decided Monday night to quit all the federal ministries if the deadlock among their party and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) over the restoration of judges persists.According to details, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif held consultations with the party leaders and arrived on the decision that his party ministers will leave the federal ministries if the deadlock with the ruling PPP persists over the judges restoration.It was said however that PML-N will continue supporting PPP in the federation.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) spokesman Siddique Al Farooq said that the previous negotiations between PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari have failed to achieve results.Talking to media outside Punjab House here, he said that no party could withstand the failure in the negotiations over the restoration of judges. Responding a question regarding the judges restoration, Siddique Al Farooq said that there is consensus and constructive approach present between PPP and PML-N.He said the negotiations process will continue even today.

ISLAMABAD: There is a deadlock among ruling parties in connection with the finalization of draft resolutions for restoration of judges and Constitutional Package to be presented before National Assembly.Geo News, citing source, said the Pakistan Democratic Alliance came to a stalemate over some points of the draft resolution including mainly the retirement age of judges and date of their restoration.Had the parties reached an agreement in today’s negotiations, the Awami National Party (ANP) would have also joined them. However, the negotiations will resume tomorrow.It may be mentioned here that the spokesman of Pakistan Muslim League (N), Siddique Al-Farooq said the talks between PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari over the draft resolution could not be completed today. The negotiations will be resumed on Tuesday, he added.

ISLAMABAD, April 20: The government has finalised the draft of a resolution for reinstatement of all deposed judges, including Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, PPP sources told Dawn on Sunday.

The sources said that the resolution would be presented in the National Assembly within a week and all deposed judges of superior courts would be reinstated.

They said the coalition partners had made some changes in the draft of the resolution prepared by former justice Fakharuddin G. Ibrahim.According to the agreed draft, the strength of the Supreme Court would be enhanced and no existing judge of the apex court would be removed.

The original draft had sought removal of the judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). The new draft suggests that the deposed chief justice would work till reaching the age of superannuation.

When contacted, information minister Sherry Rehman said that the coalition partners were very actively working for the reinstatement of deposed judges and a final announcement would be made soon.“We want the best possible solution to this problem,” she said.

Another senior leader of PPP said that PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, PML-N chief Mian Nawaz Sharif, Awami National Party President Asfandyar Wali and Maulana Fazlur Rehman would make a formal announcement of the agreed resolution.

The author of the resolution, Justice Fakhruddin G. Ibrahim, has stressed the need for early reinstatement of judges in accordance with the Constitution, and advised against politicising the matter.

He said that he had sent the draft of the resolution some three weeks ago and pleaded forcefully that the coalition government could easily reinstate the judges without any constitutional amendment because the judges had been deposed unconstitutionally.

The resolution also had the backing of 15 former superior court judges, four chief justices among them, who had supported Justice Ibrahim’s contention that the removal of judges under the emergency decree on Nov 3 was unconstitutional and that a resolution in the National Assembly would be sufficient for their reinstatement.